Employing physical location geo-spatial co-ordinate of communication device as part of internet protocol

ABSTRACT

A current physical location value associated is incorporated with a communication device as part of internet protocol (IP). An IP management component obtains current physical location information of a wireless communication device and modifies the IP address to incorporate the current physical location value corresponding to the current physical location of the communication device as part of the IP address of the communication device to prevent undesired intrusions by hackers, as communications associated with the communication device are routed to/from the communication device that is at the current physical location. If the communication device moves to a new location, the IP management component can perform a new IP address modification to modify the IP address to incorporate a new physical location value associated with the communication device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to each of,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/205,495, filed on Jul. 8, 2016, andentitled “EMPLOYING PHYSICAL LOCATION GEO-SPATIAL CO-ORDINATE OFCOMMUNICATION DEVICE AS PART OF INTERNET PROTOCOL,” which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/659,158 (now U.S.Pat. No. 9,420,455), filed on Mar. 16, 2015, and entitled “EMPLOYINGPHYSICAL LOCATION GEO-SPATIAL CO-ORDINATE OF COMMUNICATION DEVICE ASPART OF INTERNET PROTOCOL,” which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/308,267 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,014,144), filed onJun. 18, 2014, and entitled “EMPLOYING PHYSICAL LOCATION GEO-SPATIALCO-ORDINATE OF COMMUNICATION DEVICE AS PART OF INTERNET PROTOCOL”, whichis a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/967,789 (nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,792,455), filed on Aug. 15, 2013, and entitled“EMPLOYING PHYSICAL LOCATION GEO-SPATIAL CO-ORDINATE OF COMMUNICATIONDEVICE AS PART OF INTERNET PROTOCOL”, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/538,407 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,553,646),filed on Aug. 10, 2009, and entitled “EMPLOYING PHYSICAL LOCATIONGEO-SPATIAL CO-ORDINATE OF COMMUNICATION DEVICE AS PART OF INTERNETPROTOCOL.” The entireties of the foregoing listed applications arehereby incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject application generally relates to wireless communications,and, more particularly, to employing a physical location geo-spatialco-ordinate associated with a communication device as part of internetprotocol.

BACKGROUND

Many wireless communication devices (e.g., mobile phones, laptopcomputers, etc.) have the ability to access the internet to receive datafrom or send data to other communication devices. Security in wirelesscommunication is paramount as communication device users oftencommunicate sensitive or personal information via a wireless connection.

Conventionally, when communication devices are communicating via aninternet connection, each communication device is assigned a respectiveinternet protocol (IP) address, so that the communication network knowshow to route the traffic and data sent from a source communicationdevice is properly routed to the desired destination communicationdevice. One common type of security attack is known as “spoofing”, wherea hacker replaces IP address information in a data packet with fakeinformation, such as a fake IP address, so that a communication deviceand associated user that receives the data packet mistakenly believesthat the data packet came from another source, where the other sourcemay be a trusted source of the user. In wireless communication, a hackermay be able to obtain a conventional IP address associated with awireless communication device and use it to spoof communication devicesand associated communication device users thereby breaching the securityof the data communications of these users. It is desirable to be able tosecure IP addresses to facilitate securing data communications bycommunication devices in a wireless network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system that can incorporate aphysical location value in an internet protocol (IP) address associatedwith a communication device in a communication network in accordancewith an embodiment of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example system that can incorporate aphysical location value in an IP address associated with a communicationdevice in a communication network in accordance with another embodimentof the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 3 that can incorporate a physical location value in an IP addressassociated with a communication device communicating with a server in acommunication network in accordance with still another embodiment of thedisclosed subject matter.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of an example IP management component inaccordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of an example mobile device in accordancewith an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an example access point (AP) inaccordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example methodology forincorporating a current physical location value in an IP addressassociated with a communication device in a communication network inaccordance with various aspects of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 8 depicts a flowchart of an example methodology that canincorporate a current physical location value as part of an IP addressassociated with a communication device in a communication network inaccordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of an example methodology that cantranslate an IP address associated with a communication device using acurrent physical location value associated with the communication devicein a communication network in accordance with an aspect of the disclosedsubject matter.

FIG. 10 depicts a flowchart of an example methodology that canre-translate an IP address associated with a communication device usinga new current physical location value associated with the communicationdevice when the communication device moves to a new physical location ina communication network in accordance with an aspect of the disclosedsubject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject application is now described with reference to the drawings,wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elementsthroughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. It may be evident, however, thatthe present invention may be practiced without these specific details.In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form in order to facilitate describing the present invention.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “system,”“platform,” and the like can refer to a computer-related entity or anentity related to an operational machine with one or more specificfunctionalities. The entities disclosed herein can be either hardware, acombination of hardware and software, software, or software inexecution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being,a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable,a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way ofillustration, both an application running on a server and the server canbe a component. One or more components may reside within a processand/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on onecomputer and/or distributed between two or more computers. Also, thesecomponents can execute from various computer readable media havingvarious data structures stored thereon. The components may communicatevia local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signalhaving one or more data packets (e.g., data from one componentinteracting with another component in a local system, distributedsystem, and/or across a network such as the Internet with other systemsvia the signal).

In addition, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” ratherthan an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clearfrom context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the naturalinclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or Xemploys both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any ofthe foregoing instances. Moreover, articles “a” and “an” as used in thesubject specification and annexed drawings should generally be construedto mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from contextto be directed to a singular form.

Moreover, terms like “user equipment,” “mobile station,” “mobile,”“subscriber station,” “communication device,” “access terminal,”“terminal,” “handset,” and similar terminology, refer to a wirelessdevice (e.g., cellular phone, smart phone, computer, personal digitalassistant (PDA), set top box, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), etc.)utilized by a subscriber or user of a wireless communication service toreceive or convey data, control, voice, video, sound, gaming, orsubstantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. The foregoing termsare utilized interchangeably in the subject specification and relateddrawings. Likewise, the terms “access point,” “base station,” “Node B,”“evolved Node B,” “home Node B (HNB),” and the like, are utilizedinterchangeably in the subject application, and refer to a wirelessnetwork component or appliance that serves and receives data, control,voice, video, sound, gaming, or substantially any data-stream orsignaling-stream from a set of subscriber stations. Data and signalingstreams can be packetized or frame-based flows.

Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” and the likeare employed interchangeably throughout the subject specification,unless context warrants particular distinction(s) among the terms.

The following abbreviations are relevant to the subject specification.

-   3G Third Generation-   3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project-   AGPS Assisted GPS-   AP Access Point-   ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line-   AWS Advanced Wireless Services-   BRAS Broadband Remote Access Server-   BTA Basic Trading Area-   CN Core Network-   CS Circuit-Switched-   CSCF Call Session Control Function-   CPE Customer Premise Equipment-   CPN Customer Premise Network-   DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol-   DSL Digital Subscriber Line-   DSLAM Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer-   E911 Enhanced 911-   FCC Federal Communications Commission-   FL Forward Link-   GGSN Gateway GPRS Service Node-   GPRS General Packet Radio Service-   GPS Global Positioning System-   GW Gateway-   HAP Home Access Point-   HSS Home Subscriber Server-   ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network-   UE User Equipment-   UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network-   IMS IP Multimedia Subsystem-   IP Internet Protocol-   ISP Internet Service Provider-   MSA Metropolitan Statistical Areas-   MSISDN Mobile Subscriber ISDN Number-   MTA Major Trading Areas-   NAT Network Address Translation-   NTP Network Time Protocol-   O&M Operation and Maintenance-   PC Personal Computer-   PCS Personal Communications Service-   PS Packet-Switched-   PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network-   RAN Radio Access Network-   RBS Radio Base Station-   RL Reverse Link-   RNC Radio Network Controller-   RSA Rural Service Area-   SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node-   SIP Session Initiation Protocol-   USSD Unstructured Supplementary Service Data-   VPN Virtual Private Network-   WAP Wireless Application Protocol-   XDSL Asynchronous-DSL or Synchronous-DSL

The subject application provides a system(s), method(s), and device(s)that can incorporate a physical location value (e.g., a physicallocation geo-spatial co-ordinate) associated with a communication device(e.g., wireless communication device) as part of internet protocol (IP)to facilitate securing data communications between communicationdevices. In an aspect, an IP management component can obtain currentphysical location information (e.g., latitude, longitude, and/oraltitude) relating to the current location of a communication device andcan incorporate a current physical location value as part of the IPaddress of the communication device to prevent undesired intrusions byhackers, as communications associated with the communication device willbe routed to/from the communication device at the current physicallocation. The IP management component can store the original IP address,current physical location value, modified IP address, associated mapping(e.g., mapping of IP address, current physical location value, modifiedIP address, and/or other information to each of the other parameters),and/or other information (e.g., randomly generated number) associatedwith the communication device in a translation table.

Thus, for example, when the IP management component detects data trafficthat is ostensibly associated with the communication device based atleast in part on the IP addresses associated with the data traffic(e.g., either the source IP address (e.g., source modified IP address)or destination IP address (e.g., destination modified IP address) isrepresented as being the IP address associated with the communicationdevice), the IP management component can reference or retrieve themodified IP address and current physical location value associated withthe communication device from the translation table. The IP managementcomponent also can obtain current physical location information and/orcan obtain or generate a corresponding current physical location valuefor the source or destination communication device that is representingitself as being the communication device. The IP management componentcan compare the current physical location value of the communicationdevice with the current physical location value of the source ordestination communication device that is representing itself as beingthe communication device. If the respective current physical locationvalues are the same value, the IP management component can determinethat the source or destination communication device representing itselfto be the communication device is, in fact, the communication device,and the data traffic can be routed to the communication device if it isthe destination or from the communication device to anothercommunication device if it is the source. If the respective currentphysical location values are not the same value, the IP managementcomponent can determine that the source or destination communicationdevice representing itself to be the communication device is, in fact,not the communication device, and the data traffic can be discarded,flagged as a security issue, routed to another destination besides thedestination provided in the data traffic, and/or another desired actioncan be taken by the IP management component. As a result, undesiredintrusions by hackers can be prevented.

In accordance with an aspect, the IP management component can includesearch functionality and can search for IP addresses (e.g., modified IPaddresses) that are respectively associated with communication devicesin a defined location space or area (e.g., physical or geographiclocation) for a communication network. For each defined location spaceor area in the communication network, the IP management component cangenerate, maintain, and/or monitor a list of IP addresses respectivelyassociated with communication devices that are detected to be physicallyin the defined location space or area (e.g., as desired, two-dimensionallocation space or three-dimensional location space, which can be definedby two or more of latitudinal co-ordinate (or a range of latitudinalco-ordinates), longitudinal co-ordinate (or a range of longitudinalco-ordinates), and/or altitudinal co-ordinate (or a range of altitudinalco-ordinates), as desired) on the communication network. When datatraffic that is ostensibly associated with a modified IP address of acommunication device is detected, the IP management component canreference the associated modified IP address in the particular list ofIP addresses that contains the modified IP address to determine thedefined location associated with that particular list of IP addresses,and can determine the current physical location and correspondingcurrent physical location value of the communication device associatedwith the data traffic. If the current physical location value for thecommunication device associated with the detected data traffic is notthe same as the physical location value, or within the range of physicallocation values, associated with the defined location space, the IPmanagement component can prevent access to the communication network(e.g., prevent the data traffic from being communicated to thedestination communication device; discard the data traffic associatedwith the communication device that is having its access prevented; routethe data traffic to an alternate destination; or another desiredaction). If the current physical location value for the communicationdevice associated with the detected data traffic is the same as thephysical location value, or is within the range of physical locationvalues, associated with the defined location space, the IP managementcomponent can allow access to the communication network (e.g., the datatraffic can be communicated to the destination communication device).

In another aspect, if and when the communication device moves to a newphysical location, the IP management component can obtain new physicallocation information identifying the new current physical location ofthe communication device, can obtain a new current physical locationvalue based at least in part on the new physical location information,and can perform a new IP address modification to modify the IP addressto incorporate the new physical location value associated with thecommunication device.

In still another aspect, the IP management component can define aphysical location to a desired predefined level of granularity (e.g., adesired amount of physical location space in two or three dimensions).Thus, a predefined amount of two-dimensional or three-dimensionalphysical location space can be represented by a corresponding physicallocation value, and a communication device that is operating (e.g.,transmitting or receiving data) within the predefined two-dimensional orthree-dimensional physical location space can be associated with thephysical location value associated with such physical location space andcan continue to be associated with such physical location space andcorresponding physical location value so long as the communicationdevice is physically located within such physical location space. As aresult, the subject application can maintain a desired balance betweenthe level of security with regard to data communications in thecommunication network with the amount of overhead relating tomaintaining and updating physical location values for communicationdevices in the communication network. For instance, a physical locationvalue can be associated with a predefined amount of two-dimensional orthree-dimensional physical location space at a desired level ofgranularity such that a desired level of security is maintained for datacommunications (e.g., the risk that a hacker's communication device willbe within the same defined physical location space as a communicationdevice being attacked by the hacker is relatively minimal), and thecommunication device can be moved around within such space withouttriggering a re-modification of the IP address due to moving thecommunication device around to another physical location when it isstill within such space, where performing such a re-modification canresult in a certain amount of overhead.

In accordance with various other aspects and embodiments, methods thatcan incorporate a physical location value associated with acommunication device as part of IP are presented; and devices that canincorporate a physical location value associated with a communicationdevice as part of IP are presented.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an examplesystem 100 that can incorporate a physical location value in an IPaddress associated with a communication device (e.g., UE) in acommunication network in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosedsubject matter. In an aspect, example system 100 can include a UE 102(e.g., mobile and/or wireless communication device, such as a mobilephone (e.g., 3GPP UMTS phone), personal digital assistant (PDA),computer, IP television (IPTV), gaming console, set-top box, printer,etc.) in a communication environment (e.g., communication environmentcomprising a wireless portion and a wire-line portion of a communicationnetwork; communication environment comprising a wire-line communicationnetwork; communication environment comprising a wireless communicationnetwork). The UE 102 can be located in the wireless portion (e.g.,region) of the communication network, for example. The UE 102 can beconnected (e.g., wirelessly connected) to a base station 104 tofacilitate communication in the wireless communication environment. Thebase station 104 can serve a coverage macro cell that can cover aspecified area, and the base station 104 can service mobile wirelessdevices, such as UE 102, in the area covered by the macro cell, wheresuch coverage can be achieved via a wireless link (e.g., uplink (UL),downlink (DL)). When an attachment attempt is successful, UE 102 can beserved by base station 104 and incoming voice and data traffic can bepaged and routed to the UE 102 through the base station 104, andoutgoing voice and data traffic from the UE 102 can be paged and routedthrough the base station 104 to other communication devices (e.g.,another UE (not shown)). The base station 104 can be located at the edgeof a wire-line portion and the wireless portion of the communicationnetwork.

In an aspect, the base station 104 can be associated (e.g., connecteddirectly, or indirectly via a radio network controller (RNC)) with anaccess network 106, such as a wire-line access network, which can be inthe wire-line portion of the communication network and can facilitateserving a wireless service provider(s) associated with the communicationnetwork by facilitating connecting subscribers (e.g., using UE(s) 102)with the wireless service provider(s). The access network 106 cancomprise components, such as routers, nodes, switches, interfaces,controllers, etc., that can facilitate communication of data betweencommunication devices in the communication network. In another aspect,the access network 106 can be associated with a core network 108, whichcan be in the wire-line portion of the communication network, and canfacilitate routing data between communication devices, such as UEs 102,allocating resources to UEs 102 in the network, converting or enforcingprotocols, establishing and enforcing Quality of Service (QoS) for UEs102, providing applications or services in the network, translatingsignals, and/or performing other functions to facilitate systeminteroperability and communication in the wireless communicationnetwork. The core network 108 can comprise gateways, routers, nodes,switches, interfaces, controllers, etc., to facilitate communicationbetween communication devices (e.g., UEs 102) associated with thenetwork.

Conventionally, in a wireless communication network, when communicationdevices are communicating via an internet connection, each communicationdevice is assigned a respective internet protocol (IP) address, whichcan be utilized by the communication network to route data traffic to orfrom the communication device associated with the IP address. An IP(e.g., IPv6, IPv4) typically can comprise header information (e.g.,version, traffic class, flow label, payload length, next header, hoplimit, source IP address, destination IP address, etc.), where thesource IP address identifies the source communication devicetransmitting the data packet, and the destination IP address identifiesthe destination communication device that is to receive the data packet,and where each of these various parameters can have a specified numberof bits (e.g., source IP address and destination IP address each can be128 bits for IPv6). Conventionally, communication devices and associateddata traffic are susceptible to a number of different types of attacksby hackers. One common type of security attack is known as “spoofing”,where a hacker replaces IP address information in a data packet withfake information, such as a fake IP address, so that a communicationdevice and associated user that receives the data packet mistakenlybelieves that the data packet came from another source, where the othersource may be a trusted source in relation to the user. In wirelesscommunication, a hacker may be able to obtain a conventional IP addressassociated with a wireless communication device and use it to spoofcommunication devices and associated communication device users therebybreaching the security of the data communications of these users.

In contrast to conventional systems and techniques, the subjectapplication can dynamically incorporate a value, which can indicate acurrent physical location of a UE, such as UE 102 (e.g., value can be aphysical location geo-spatial co-ordinate associated with the UE), aspart of the IP address associated with the UE to facilitate dynamicallycontrolling (e.g., managing) routing of data traffic associated with orat least ostensibly associated with the UE and securing datacommunications between the UE and other communication devices, such asUE 110 or UE 112, when communicating on the internet 114 (e.g., via aninternet connection). UE 110 can be connected (e.g., wirelesslyconnected) to base station 104 or a different base station (not shown)to communicate and connect to the internet 114 (and communicationdevices associated therewith) in the communication network, and UE 112can be connected (e.g., wirelessly connected) to the access network 106via an access point (AP) 118 that employs a desired wireless technology(e.g., Wi-Fi, WiMAX, etc.) to facilitate connecting the UE 112 to theinternet 114. In an aspect, the core network 108 can comprise an IPmanagement component 116 that can monitor communications between UEs(e.g., 102, 110, 112) and other communication devices and respectivephysical locations of respective UEs in the communication network. TheIP management component 116 can dynamically obtain current physicallocation information (e.g., global positioning system (GPS) information)relating to the current physical location of UE 102 and can dynamicallyincorporate a current physical location value (e.g., current physicallocation geo-spatial co-ordinate) that corresponds to the currentphysical location of the UE 202 as part of the IP address of the UE 102to prevent undesired intrusions by hackers, as communications associatedwith the UE 102 will be routed to/from the UE 102 at the currentphysical location. In another aspect, to facilitate incorporating orintegrating the current physical location value with the IP address, theIP management component 116 can translate the IP address as a functionof the current physical location value to modify the IP address (e.g.,the N-bit IP address can be modified so that the N-bits have a differentvalue based at least in part on the current physical location valueand/or a true or pseudo randomly generated number). The modified IPaddress can be mapped to the current physical location value, originalIP address, and/or other information (e.g., randomly generated number;associated other desired physical location values, for example,corresponding to defined physical location spaces that are near,adjacent to or proximate to the defined physical location spacerepresented by the current physical location value, such as more fullydisclosed herein) associated with the UE 102, and the current physicallocation value, original IP address, modified IP address, otherinformation, and/or associated mapping relating to the UE 102 can bestored in a data store (not shown in FIG. 1) (e.g., stored in atranslation table stored in the data store) associated with the IPmanagement component 116.

When data traffic is transmitted from the UE 102 to anothercommunication device, the IP management component 116, which can monitorcommunications of UEs, can detect (e.g., automatically detect) the datatraffic associated with the UE 102 (or at least ostensibly associatedwith the UE 102), and can identify the source IP address of the datatraffic as the same IP address as that associated with the UE 102 byreferencing the modified IP address in the translation table (e.g., thesource IP address of the data traffic can have the same parameter valueas the modified IP address associated with the UE 102). The IPmanagement component 116 can retrieve the modified IP address, currentphysical location value and/or other information associated with the UE102 from the translation table. The IP management component 116 also canobtain and/or determine the current physical location, and therebydetermine the current physical location value, associated with the UE102. The IP management component 116 can compare the determined currentphysical location value associated with the UE 102 with the storedcurrent physical location value associated with the UE 102 to determinewhether the respective values are the same. If the respective values arethe same, the IP management component 116 can determine that the datatraffic is actually being sent from the UE 102, and the data traffic canbe dynamically routed to the desired destination, such as anothercommunication device in the communication network.

When data traffic is transmitted to the UE 102 from anothercommunication device, the IP management component 116 can detect thedata traffic associated with the UE 102 (or at least ostensiblyassociated with the UE 102), and can identify the destination IP addressof the data traffic as the same IP address as that associated with theUE 102 by referencing the modified IP address in the translation table(e.g., the destination IP address of the data traffic can have the sameparameter value as the modified IP address associated with the UE 102).The IP management component 116 can retrieve the modified IP address,current physical location value and/or other information associated withthe UE 102 from the translation table. The IP management component 116also can obtain and/or determine the current physical location, andthereby determine the current physical location value, associated withthe UE 102. The IP management component 116 can compare the determinedcurrent physical location value associated with the UE 102 with thestored current physical location value associated with the UE 102 todetermine whether the respective values are the same. If the respectivevalues are the same, the IP management component 116 can determine thatthe data traffic is actually being sent to the intended destination, theUE 102, and the data traffic can be dynamically routed to the UE 102.

If and when a hacker uses a communication device to attempt to hack intodata traffic associated with the UE 102 and/or have the hacker'scommunication device pose as if it is the UE 102 (e.g., spoof), forexample, by representing the IP address for a communication from thehacker's communication device as the IP address of the UE 102 (e.g.,modified IP address associated with the UE 102), the IP managementcomponent 116 can detect the data traffic that is represented as beingassociated with the UE 102 and can identify the source IP address ordestination IP address (whichever of the source communication device ordestination communication device that is representing itself to be theUE 102) of the data traffic as the same IP address as that associatedwith the UE 102 by referencing the modified IP address associated withthe UE 102 in the translation table (e.g., the source IP address ordestination IP address (whichever is applicable) of the data traffic canhave the same parameter value as the modified IP address associated withthe UE 102).

The IP management component 116 can retrieve the modified IP address,current physical location value, and/or other information (e.g.,randomly generated number) associated with the UE 102 from thetranslation table. The IP management component 116 also can obtainand/or determine the current physical location information (and therebyobtain and/or determine the current physical location value), if any,associated with the hacker's communication device. The IP managementcomponent 116 can compare the determined current physical location value(associated with the hacker's communication device), if any, to thestored current physical location value (associated with the UE 102), andcan determine that the data traffic is not associated with the UE 102,since the respective physical location values for the UE 102 and thehacker's communication device will be different. The IP managementcomponent 116 can discard the data traffic associated with the hacker'scommunication device or can dynamically route the data traffic to adifferent destination than the destination IP address provided in thedata traffic in order to prevent the undesired intrusion by the hacker'scommunication device and secure the UE 102 and any other communicationdevice(s) that the hacker is attempting to attack using the IP addressof the UE 102. In another aspect, the IP management component 116 alsocan flag the hacker's communication device as a security problem and canattempt to identify the hacker's communication device (e.g., monitorcommunications associated with the hacker's communication device,monitor the physical location(s) of the hacker's communication device,etc.) in order to identify the hacker.

In accordance with an aspect, the IP management component 116 cancomprise search functionality and can search for IP addresses (e.g.,modified IP addresses) that are respectively associated with UEs (e.g.,102, 110, 112) in a defined location space or area (e.g., physical orgeographic location) for a communication network. For each definedlocation space or area in the communication network, the IP managementcomponent 116 can generate, maintain, and/or monitor a list of IPaddresses respectively associated with UEs that are detected to bephysically in the defined location space or area (e.g., as desired,two-dimensional location space or three-dimensional location space,which can be defined by two or more of latitudinal co-ordinate (or arange of latitudinal co-ordinates), longitudinal co-ordinate (or a rangeof longitudinal co-ordinates), and/or altitudinal co-ordinate (or arange of altitudinal co-ordinates), as desired) on the communicationnetwork. When data traffic that is ostensibly associated with a modifiedIP address of a UE is detected, the IP management component canreference the associated modified IP address in the particular list ofIP addresses that contains the modified IP address to determine thedefined physical location associated with that particular list of IPaddresses, and can determine the current physical location andcorresponding current physical location value of the UE(s) associatedwith the data traffic. If the current physical location value for the UEassociated with the detected data traffic is not the same as thephysical location value or within the range of physical location valuesassociated with the defined location space, the IP management component116 can prevent access to the communication network (e.g., prevent thedata traffic from being communicated to the destination UE; discard thedata traffic associated with the UE that is having its access prevented;or another desired action). If the current physical location value forthe UE associated with the detected data traffic is the same as thephysical location value or is within the range of physical locationvalues associated with the defined location space, the IP managementcomponent 116 can allow access to the communication network (e.g., thedata traffic can be communicated to the destination communicationdevice).

In another aspect, if and when the UE 102 moves to a new physicallocation, the IP management component 116 can dynamically obtain newphysical location information identifying the new current physicallocation of the UE 102, can determine and/or obtain a new currentphysical location value (e.g., new current physical location geo-spatialco-ordinate), and can dynamically perform a new IP address modificationto modify the IP address to incorporate the new physical location valueassociated with the UE 102. For example, the IP management component 116can translate the original IP address using the new current physicallocation value and/or a true or pseudo randomly generated number tomodify the original IP address to incorporate the new current physicallocation value as part of the IP. The new modified IP address, newcurrent physical location value, and original IP address, and/or otherinformation (e.g., randomly generated number) can be mapped to eachother. The new modified IP address, new current physical location value,associated mapping, and/or other information can be stored in thetranslation table.

In yet another aspect, the IP management component 116 can define aphysical location to a desired predefined level of granularity (e.g., adesired amount of physical location space in two or three dimensions).Thus, the IP management component 116 can represent a predefined amountof two-dimensional or three-dimensional physical location space by acorresponding physical location value, and a UE (e.g., 102, 110, 112)that is operating (e.g., transmitting or receiving data) within thepredefined two-dimensional or three-dimensional physical location spacecan be associated with the physical location value associated with suchphysical location space and can continue to be associated with suchphysical location space and corresponding physical location value solong as that UE is physically located within such physical locationspace. As a result, the subject application can maintain a desiredbalance between the level of security with regard to data communicationsin the communication network with the amount of overhead relating tomaintaining and updating physical location values for UEs in thecommunication network. For instance, a physical location value can beassociated with a predefined amount of two-dimensional orthree-dimensional physical location space at a desired level ofgranularity such that a desired level of security is maintained for datacommunications (e.g., the risk that a hacker's communication device willbe within the same defined physical location space as a communicationdevice being attacked by the hacker is relatively minimal), and the UEcan be moved around within such physical location space withouttriggering a re-modification of the IP address (e.g., a new modified IPaddress) due to moving the UE around to another physical location whenit is still within such physical location space associated with thephysical location value, where performing such a re-modification canresult in a certain amount of overhead.

Alternatively, or in addition to, specifying or defining a physicallocation to a desired predefined level of granularity, the IP managementcomponent 116 can determine whether to automatically or dynamicallytrigger re-modification of a modified IP address associated with a UE(e.g., 102) based at least in part on the amount of distance a UE isfrom the defined physical location space associated with the currentphysical value. The IP management component 116 can detect data trafficostensibly associated with a UE (e.g., 102) (and associated modified IPaddress) and can identify (e.g., detect, determine, or receiveinformation regarding, etc.) the current physical location of the UEand/or associated current physical location value of the UE that is thesource or destination UE associated with the data traffic. The IPmanagement component 116 can determine whether the current physicallocation value associated with the source and/or destination UE for suchdata traffic is a value that is associated with a physical location thatis within a predefined distance of the physical location associated withthe current physical location value relating to the modified IP address(e.g., the physical location value associated with the source ordestination UE corresponds to a physical location that is within apredefined distance of the physical location corresponding to thecurrent physical location associated with the modified IP address), inaccordance with a specified predefined IP rule.

If the source or destination UE (whichever is being evaluated) is at orwithin a predefined distance of the physical location associated withthe current physical location value relating to the modified IP address,the IP management component 116 can determine that the source ordestination UE (whichever is being evaluated) is actually the UEassociated with the source or destination address (whichever isapplicable) of the data traffic, and can route the data traffic to thedesired destination, as specified in the header of the data packet(s).If the source or destination UE (whichever is being evaluated) is not ator within a predefined distance of the physical location associated withthe current physical location value relating to the modified IP address,the IP management component 116 can determine that the source ordestination UE (whichever is being evaluated) is not the UE associatedwith the source or destination address (whichever is applicable) of thedata traffic, but rather is an imposter UE or at least a suspectedimposter UE, and can route the data traffic to the desired destinationthat is not the destination specified in the data traffic, can flag thedata traffic as a security issue, can discard the data traffic, and/orcan take other desired action.

As a result, even though the UE may not be in the physical locationassociated with the current physical location value, but rather is atleast within a predefined distance of the location associated with thecurrent location value, the IP management component 116 can determinethat the UE is the desired UE and not an imposter UE given the proximityof the UE to the location associated with the current location value.Thus, the data traffic can be desirably routed, a re-modification of theIP address of the UE can be avoided, which can reduce or eliminate theresources necessary for re-modification of the IP address, whilesecurity of the data traffic and communication devices can be desirablyand efficiently maintained.

In yet another aspect, alternatively, or in addition to, specifying ordefining a physical location to a desired predefined level ofgranularity, the IP management component 116 can determine whether toautomatically or dynamically trigger re-modification of a modified IPaddress associated with a UE (e.g., 102) based at least in part onwhether a UE is located in the defined physical location spaceassociated with the current physical value or another defined physicallocation space associated with another current physical value that isassociated with the current physical location value (e.g., in accordancewith a predefined IP rule) or not. The IP management component 116 candetect (e.g., automatically detect) a current physical location of a UE(e.g., 102) and can generate or obtain (e.g., automatically generate orobtain) a current physical location value that corresponds to thecurrent physical location of the UE and corresponds to the definedphysical location space in which the current physical location issituated, where the physical location space can be defined to thedesired predefined level of granularity. The IP management component 116can incorporate or integrate the current physical location value into oras part of the IP address associated with the UE to generate a modifiedaddress for the UE. The IP management component 116 also can associateother desired physical location values, such as physical location valuesthat are respectively associated with defined physical location spacesthat are near, adjacent to, or proximate to (e.g., within a predefineddistance from) the defined physical location space wherein the currentphysical location of the UE is located. The IP address, modified IPaddress, current physical location value, other desired physicallocation values to be associated with the current physical locationvalue, and/or other information (e.g., randomly generated number) can bemapped to or associated with each other and stored in the translationtable.

When the IP management component 116 detects data traffic ostensiblyassociated with a UE (e.g., 102) (and associated modified IP address),the IP management component 116 can identify (e.g., automaticallydetect, determine, or receive information regarding, etc.) the currentphysical location of the UE and/or associated current physical locationvalue of the UE that is the source or destination UE (whichever isapplicable) associated with the data traffic. Using the IP address(e.g., source IP address, destination IP address, as applicable withrespect to the UE being evaluated) provided in the data traffic, the IPmanagement component 116 reference information relating to that IPaddress in the translation table, where such information can comprisethe current physical location value, other desired physical locationvalues (e.g., corresponding to defined physical location spaces that arenear, adjacent to, or proximate to the defined physical location spacerelating to the current physical location value of the UE) associatedwith the current physical location value, the modified IP address,and/or other desired information (e.g., randomly generated number). TheIP management component 116 can evaluate (e.g., compare) the identifiedphysical location value of the source or destination UE (whichever isbeing evaluated) to determine whether it matches the current physicallocation value of the UE or other desired physical locations valuesassociated therewith, in accordance with another specified predefined IPrule. If the IP management component 116 determines that the identifiedphysical location value of the source or destination UE (whichever isbeing evaluated) matches either the current physical location value orany one of the other desired physical location values associatedtherewith, the IP management component 116 can determine that the sourceor destination UE (whichever is being evaluated) is actually the UEassociated with the source or destination address (whichever isapplicable) of the data traffic and thus the modified IP address, andcan route the data traffic to the desired destination, as specified inthe header of the data packet(s).

If the IP management component 116 determines that the identifiedphysical location value of the source or destination UE (whichever isapplicable) does not match the current physical location value or any ofthe other desired physical location values associated therewith, the IPmanagement component 116 can determine that the source or destination UE(whichever is being evaluated) is not the UE associated with the sourceor destination address (whichever is applicable) of the data traffic,but rather is an imposter UE or at least a suspected imposter UE, andcan route the data traffic to the desired destination that is not thedestination specified in the data traffic, can flag the data traffic asa security issue, can discard the data traffic, and/or can take otherdesired action.

As a result, even though the UE may not be in the defined physicallocation space associated with the current physical location value, butrather is in a defined physical location space that is near, adjacent toor proximate to the defined physical location space associated with thecurrent physical location value, the IP management component 116 candetermine that the UE is the desired UE and not an imposter UE given theproximity of the UE to the defined physical location space associatedwith the current location value. Thus, the data traffic can be desirablyrouted, unnecessary or undesired re-modification of the IP address ofthe UE can be avoided, which can reduce or eliminate the resourcesnecessary for re-modification of the IP address, while security of thedata traffic and communication devices can be desirably and efficientlymaintained.

In accordance with an embodiment, optionally, as desired, the IPmanagement component 116 can generate and/or obtain true or pseudorandomly generated numbers, which can be utilized in conjunction with acurrent physical location value to translate an original IP addressassociated with a UE (e.g., 102) to facilitate securing datacommunications between the UE and other communication devices fromhackers. The randomly generated number associated with an IP address ofa UE can be stored in the translation table and mapped to the originalIP address of the UE along with the current physical location value.

In still another aspect, the IP management component 116 can employ oneor more desired predefined IP rules that correspond to predefined IPcriteria, and relate to and facilitate incorporating a physical locationvalue as part of an IP address associated with a UE (e.g., 102),determining whether to automatically trigger a modification (orre-modification) of a modified IP address, determining whether aparticular UE is an actual UE as represented by the modified IP addressor an imposter UE masquerading as the actual UE, determining how toroute data traffic, etc.

It is to be appreciated and understood that the subject application isdepicted in FIG. 1 as having UE 102 and UE 110 communicating wirelesslyvia the base station 104 and UE 112 is depicted as being connected tothe access network via AP 118. The base station 104 and AP 118 canfacilitate wireless communication and UE 102, UE 110, and/or UE 112 canbe connected and can communicate wirelessly using virtually any desiredwireless technology, including, for example, cellular, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max,wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc.

It is to be further appreciated and understood that the subjectapplication is depicted in FIG. 1 as having three UEs (e.g., 102, 110,112), one base station 104, one IP management component 116, and one AP118; however, the subject application is not so limited, as there alsocan be less than three UEs, three UEs, or more than three UEs, more thanone base station 104, more than one IP management component 116, and/ormore than one AP 118, as desired. It is to be further appreciated andunderstood that, while the IP management component 116 is depicted asbeing within the core network 108, the subject application is not solimited, as, in accordance with various embodiments, the IP managementcomponent 116 can be a stand-alone unit, the IP management component 116can be part of another component in system 100, or portions (e.g.,components) of the IP management component 116 can be distributed asseparate components throughout the system 100, as desired. It is to beappreciated and understood that, while the subject application isdescribed in terms of UEs connecting to the internet (and communicatingwith other communication devices associated with the internet), thesubject application is not so limited, as the subject application alsocan be employed to facilitate data communication via an intranet,databases, etc., or any combination thereof.

In accordance with one embodiment of the subject application, one ormore components (e.g., IP management component 116) in the communicationnetwork can utilize artificial intelligence (AI) methods to infer (e.g.,reason and draw a conclusion based at least in part on a set of metrics,arguments, or known outcomes in controlled scenarios) a physicallocation of a UE; whether a UE has moved to a new physical location;whether a data communication is associated with a desired UE or acommunication device associated with a hacker; etc. Artificialintelligence techniques typically can apply advanced mathematicalalgorithms—e.g., decision trees, neural networks, regression analysis,principal component analysis (PCA) for feature and pattern extraction,cluster analysis, genetic algorithm, and reinforced learning—to historicand/or current data associated with system 100 (or another system(s)disclosed herein) to facilitate rendering an inference(s) related to thesystem 100 (or another system(s) disclosed herein).

In particular, the one or more components in the network can employ oneof numerous methodologies for learning from data and then drawinginferences from the models so constructed, e.g., Hidden Markov Models(HMMs) and related prototypical dependency models. General probabilisticgraphical models, such as Dempster-Shafer networks and Bayesian networkslike those created by structure search using a Bayesian model score orapproximation can also be utilized. In addition, linear classifiers,such as support vector machines (SVMs), non-linear classifiers likemethods referred to as “neural network” methodologies, fuzzy logicmethodologies can also be employed. Moreover, game theoretic models(e.g., game trees, game matrices, pure and mixed strategies, utilityalgorithms, Nash equilibria, evolutionary game theory, etc.) and otherapproaches that perform data fusion, etc., can be exploited inaccordance with implementing various automated aspects described herein.The foregoing methods can be applied to analysis of the historic and/orcurrent data associated with system 100 (or another system(s) disclosedherein) to facilitate making inferences or determinations related tosystem 100 (or another system(s) disclosed herein).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example system 200 that can incorporatea physical location value in an IP address associated with acommunication device (e.g., UE) in a communication network in accordancewith another embodiment of the disclosed subject matter. The examplesystem 200 can comprise a UE 202 (e.g., mobile and/or wirelesscommunication device, such as a mobile phone, PDA, computer, IPTV,gaming console, set-top box, printer, etc.) in a communicationenvironment. In an aspect, the UE 202 can be located in the wirelessportion (e.g., region) of the communication network, for example. The UE202 can be connected (e.g., wirelessly connected) to a base station 204to facilitate communication in the wireless communication environment.The base station 204 can serve a coverage macro cell that can cover aspecified area, and the base station 204 can service wireless devices(e.g., wireless mobile devices), such as UE 202, in the area covered bythe macro cell, where such coverage can be achieved via a wireless link(e.g., UL, DL). When an attachment attempt is successful, UE 202 can beserved by base station 204 and incoming voice and data traffic can bepaged and routed to the UE 202 through the base station 204, andoutgoing voice and data traffic from the UE 202 can be paged and routedthrough the base station 204 to other communication devices (e.g.,another UE). The base station 204 can be located at the edge of awire-line portion and the wireless portion of the communication network,for example.

In an aspect, the system 200 can include a radio access network (RAN)206, such as a high-speed packet access (HSPA) RAN, that can be utilizedto facilitate communication between communication devices, such as theUE 202, associated with or in the wireless portion of the network. Thebase station 204 can be in or associated with the RAN 206. The RAN 206also can contain a radio network controller (RNC) 208 that canfacilitate controlling routing of data between the base station 204 (orother base stations in or associated with the RAN 206) and an accessnetwork 210 (e.g., a wire-line access network). For instance, asdesired, there can be one or more RNCs 208 in the communication network(e.g., an RNC 208 for each cell in the communication network).

The access network 210 can be in the wire-line portion of thecommunication network and can facilitate serving a wireless serviceprovider(s) associated with the communication network by facilitatingconnecting subscribers (e.g., using UE(s) 202) with the wireless serviceprovider(s). The access network 210 can include a serving support node,such as a serving GPRS support node (SGSN) 212, which can be associatedwith the RNC 208 to facilitate communication of data, in accordance withspecified protocols, between the RAN 206 and access network 210. Theaccess network 210 can contain a gateway node, such as a gateway GPRSsupport node (GGSN) 214, that can facilitate communication of databetween the access network 210 and a core network 216. The accessnetwork 210 also can comprise other components, such as routers, nodes,switches, interfaces, controllers, etc., that can facilitatecommunication of data between communication devices in the communicationnetwork.

The core network 216 also can be in the wire-line portion of thecommunication network and can facilitate routing data betweencommunication devices, such as UE 202, UE 218 (which can be connected tothe base station 204), and/or UE 220, allocating respective resourcesfor respective UEs in the communication network, establishing andenforcing respective QoS for the respective UEs, providing applicationsor services in the communication network, etc. The core network 216 alsocan comprise gateways, routers, nodes, switches, interfaces,controllers, etc., to facilitate communication between communicationdevices (e.g., UE 202) associated with the communication network. In anaspect, the core network 216 can be associated with the internet 222 tofacilitate enabling communication devices, such as UE 202 and UE 218 toconnect to the internet 222. In another aspect, UE 220 can be connectedto the access network 210 via an AP 224 that employs a desired wirelesstechnology (e.g., Wi-Fi, Wi-MAX, etc.).

In accordance with an aspect, the system 200 can comprise an IPmanagement component 226 that can monitor communications between UEs(e.g., 202, 218, 220) and/or other communication devices and respectivephysical locations (e.g., using GPS) of respective UEs in thecommunication network. The IP management component 226 can dynamicallyobtain current physical location information (e.g., GPS information)relating to the current physical location of a UE (e.g., 202) and candynamically incorporate a current physical location value (e.g., currentphysical location geo-spatial co-ordinate) that corresponds to thecurrent physical location of the UE 202 as part of the IP address of theUE 202 (e.g., translate the IP address based at least in part on thecurrent physical location value) to prevent undesired intrusions byhackers, as communications associated with the UE 202 will be routedto/from the UE 202 at or associated with the current physical location.In an aspect, the IP management component 226 can facilitate routing ofdata traffic to/from a desired UE (e.g., 202) as, for example, the IPmanagement component 226 can communicate or facilitate communicatingrouting information relating to the desired UE to the GGSN 214 or otherrouting components in the core network 216.

In accordance with various aspects, UE 202, base station 204, accessnetwork 210, core network 216, UE 218, UE 220, IP management component226, AP 224, and other components in system 200, respectively can be thesame or similar as and/or can comprise the same or similar features andfunctionality as respectively named components such as more fullydescribed herein, for example, with regard to system 100.

It also is to be appreciated and understood that the subject applicationis depicted in FIG. 2 as having three UEs 202, 218 and 220, one basestation 204, one RNC 208, one SGSN 212, one GGSN 214, one AP 224, andone IP management component 224; however, the subject application is notso limited, as there also can be less than three UEs, three UEs, or morethan three UEs, more than one base station 204, more than one RNC 208,more than one SGSN 212, more than one GGSN 214, more than one AP 224,and/or more than one IP management component 226, as desired. It is tobe further appreciated and understood that, while the IP managementcomponent 226 is shown as being included as part of the core network216, the subject application is not so limited, as, in accordance withvarious embodiments, the IP management component 226 can be astand-alone unit, the IP management component 226 can be part of anothercomponent in system 200, or portions (e.g., components) of the IPmanagement component 226 can be distributed as separate componentsthroughout the system 200, as desired.

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of an example system 300 that canincorporate a physical location value in an IP address associated with acommunication device (e.g., UE) communicating with a server in acommunication network in accordance with still another embodiment of thedisclosed subject matter. In an aspect, example system 300 can includeUEs 302 and 304 (e.g., mobile and/or wireless communication devices,such as a mobile phone, PDA, computer, IPTV, gaming console, set-topbox, printer, etc.) in a communication environment. The UEs 302 and 304can be connected (e.g., wirelessly connected) to respective APs 306 and308 (e.g., cellular base station(s), Wi-Fi hot spot, etc.) to facilitatecommunication by the UEs 302 and 304 in the wireless communicationenvironment. The APs 306 and 308 can serve respective coverage cellsthat can cover a specified area, and the respective APs 306 and 308 canservice mobile wireless devices, such as UEs 302 and 304, in the areacovered by the respective cells, where such coverage can be achieved viaa wireless link (e.g., UL, DL). When an attachment attempt issuccessful, UE 302 can be served by AP 306 and incoming voice and datatraffic can be paged and routed to the UE 302 through the AP 306, andoutgoing voice and data traffic from the UE 302 can be paged and routedthrough the AP 306 to other communication devices (e.g., another UE).Similarly, with regard to UE 304, when an attachment attempt issuccessful, UE 304 can be served by AP 308 and incoming voice and datatraffic can be paged and routed to the UE 304 through the AP 308, andoutgoing voice and data traffic from the UE 304 can be paged and routedthrough the AP 308 to other communication devices (e.g., another UE).

In an aspect, the APs 306 and 308 can be associated (e.g., connecteddirectly, or indirectly via a radio network controller (RNC)) with anaccess network 310 that can facilitate serving a wireless serviceprovider(s) associated with the communication network by facilitatingconnecting subscribers (e.g., using UEs 302 and 304) with the wirelessservice provider(s). The access network 310 can comprise components,such as routers, nodes, switches, interfaces, controllers, etc., thatcan facilitate communication of data between communication devices inthe communication network. In another aspect, the access network 310 canbe associated with a core network 312 that can facilitate routing databetween communication devices, such as UEs (e.g., 302, 304), allocatingresources to UEs in the network, converting or enforcing protocols,establishing and enforcing QoS for UEs, providing applications orservices in the network, translating signals, and/or performing otherfunctions to facilitate system interoperability and communication in thewireless communication network. The core network 312 can comprisegateways, routers, nodes, switches, interfaces, controllers, etc., tofacilitate communication between communication devices associated withthe communication network.

In still another aspect, the core network 312 can be associated with aserver 314 to facilitate data communication between the server 314 andUEs 302 and 304. The server 314 can process and store data, and canreceive data from communication devices, such as UEs 302 and 304, andcan transmit data to the communication devices.

In another aspect, the server 314 can include an IP management component316 that can monitor communications associated with UEs, such as UEs 302and 304, and/or other communication devices and respective physicallocations (e.g., using GPS) of respective UEs in the communicationnetwork. The IP management component 316 can dynamically obtain currentphysical location information (e.g., GPS information) relating to thecurrent physical location of a UE (e.g., 302, 304) and can dynamicallyincorporate a current physical location value (e.g., current physicallocation geo-spatial co-ordinate) that corresponds to the currentphysical location of the UE (e.g., 302, 304) as part of the IP addressof the UE (e.g., translate the IP address based at least in part on thecurrent physical location value and/or a true or pseudo randomlygenerated number) to prevent undesired intrusions by hackers, ascommunications associated with the UE will be routed to/from the UE ator associated with the current physical location. In an aspect, the IPmanagement component 316 can facilitate routing of data traffic to/froma desired UE as, for example, the IP management component 316 cancommunicate or facilitate communicating routing information relating tothe desired UE to routing components (not shown) associated with theserver 314.

For instance, the server 314 can detect data traffic from a UE, such asUE 302, or a device representing itself as the UE 302 using the modifiedIP address associated with the UE 302. The actual UE 302 can beassociated with a particular physical location that can be representedby a corresponding current physical location value, which along with anassociated modified IP address, original IP address, other desiredinformation, and/or associated mapping can be stored in a translationtable associated with the IP management component 316. The IP managementcomponent 316 can automatically obtain current physical locationinformation and/or a corresponding current physical location value ofthe device that is representing itself as the UE 302 and is associatedwith the data traffic. The IP management component 316 can referenceinformation relating to the actual UE 302 using the modified IP addressprovided with the data traffic, and can retrieve a current physicallocation value associated with the actual UE 302 and/or otherinformation from the translation table. The IP management component 316can compare the retrieved current physical location value, which isknown to correspond to the current physical location of the actual UE302, to the obtained current physical location value of the device thatis representing itself as the UE 302 with regard to the data traffic todetermine whether the respective current physical location values matcheach other.

If the respective current physical location values match each other, theIP management component 316 can determine that the device representingitself to be the UE 302 is actually the UE 302, and can facilitateautomatically routing (e.g., by automatically generating andcommunicating routing information to a router component) the datatraffic as specified in the header information of the data traffic(e.g., route data traffic to the specified destination). If therespective current physical location values do not match each other, theIP management component 316 can determine that the device representingitself to be the UE 302 is not the UE 302, but rather is masquerading asthe UE 302, and can facilitate automatically routing (e.g., byautomatically generating and communicating routing information to arouter component) the data traffic differently than specified by thedata traffic, such as, for example, by routing the data traffic todiscard the data traffic, routing the data traffic to a different andsecure destination other than the destination specified in the datatraffic, etc., and/or can refuse to generate data that is desired by theimposter device (e.g., when imposter device desires information from theserver 314, the server 314 can refuse to generate the data desired bythe imposter device). The IP management component 316 also can flag theimposter device as a security problem, where action can be taken toattempt to identify the imposter device and associated user (e.g.,hacker).

Alternatively, or additionally, in accordance with another aspect, theIP management component 316 can provide different levels of security forinformation in the server 314 based at least in part on the physicallocation of the communication device communicating with the server 314.For example, a UE, such as UE 302, can be associated with one or moretrusted physical locations (e.g., home of the UE user, place ofemployment of the UE user, etc.) having respective corresponding currentphysical location values. If the IP management component 316 obtains thecurrent physical location value of a device representing itself to bethe UE 302 and determines that the device is actually the UE 302 and itis at a trusted physical location based at least in part on the currentphysical location value, the IP management component 316 can allow aspecified level of access to the server 314 and information therein thatis a higher level of access than the level of access to the server 314and information therein granted to the UE 302 when the UE 302 isdetermined to not be in a trusted physical location. As desired, whenthe IP management component 316 determines that a device representingitself as the UE 302 actually is the UE 302 but the UE 302 is not in atrusted physical location, as determined based at least in part on thecurrent physical location value associated with the UE 302, the IPmanagement component 316 can grant a lower level of access to the server314 and information therein (as compared to the specified (e.g., higher)level of access that can be granted to the UE 302 when it is in atrusted physical location) and/or the IP management component 314 canrequest certain and/or additional authentication credentials (e.g.,which can be in addition to other authentication credentials, if any,that are to be provided by the UE 302 even when it is in a trustedphysical location) be provided by the UE 302 and associated user inorder for the UE 302 to be granted a higher level of access to theserver 314 and information therein, where such higher level of accesscan be the same or different (e.g., lower) than the specified level ofaccess granted to the UE 302 when in a trusted physical location.

In accordance with an embodiment, the UEs 302 and 304 optionally cancomprise respective IP management components 318 and 320 that each candynamically incorporate a physical location value as part of an IPaddress to generate a modified IP address and can dynamically route datatraffic, based at least in part on the modified IP address, tofacilitate enhanced security with regard to data communicationsassociated with the UEs 302 and 304. In an aspect, a UE, such as UE 302,can desire to communicate securely with the server 314 (e.g., servercomprising employment-related information, server comprising useraccount and/or financial information, mailbox server, phone server,etc.), which can be a server associated with an entity, such as anemployer of a user (e.g., user of UE 302), a financial business (e.g.,bank, finance company, stock broker, etc.), online service provider orapplication provider, and/or other entity, for which securecommunications can be paramount. The actual server 314 with whichcommunication is desired by the UE 302 can be associated with aparticular physical location that can be represented by a correspondingcurrent physical location value, which along with an associated modifiedIP address, original IP address, other desired information, and/orassociated mapping can be stored in a translation table.

When data traffic ostensibly from the server 314 (e.g., data traffichaving modified IP address relating to the server 314) is detected bythe IP management component 318, the IP management component 318 canautomatically obtain current physical location information and/or acorresponding current physical location value of the device that isostensibly the server 314 and is associated with the data traffic. TheIP management component 318 can reference information relating to theactual server 314 using the modified IP address provided with the datatraffic, and can retrieve a current physical location value associatedwith the actual server 314 and/or other information from a translationtable. The IP management component 318 can compare the retrieved currentphysical location value, which is known to correspond to the currentphysical location of the actual server 314, to the obtained currentphysical location value of the device that is representing itself as theserver 314 with regard to the data traffic to determine whether therespective current physical location values match each other.

If the respective current physical location values match each other, theIP management component 318 can determine that the device representingitself to be the server 314 is actually the server 314, and canfacilitate automatically routing (e.g., by automatically generating andcommunicating routing information to a router component) the datatraffic as specified in the header information of the data traffic(e.g., route data traffic to the specified destination). If therespective current physical location values do not match each other, theIP management component 318 can determine that the device representingitself to be the server 314 is not the server 314, but rather ismasquerading as the server 314, and can facilitate automatically routing(e.g., by automatically generating and communicating routing informationto a router component) the data traffic differently than specified bythe data traffic, such as, for example, by routing the data traffic todiscard the data traffic, routing the data traffic to a different andsecure destination other than the destination specified in the datatraffic, etc., and/or can refuse to generate data that is desired by theimposter device (e.g., when imposter device desires information from theUE 302, the UE can refuse to generate the data desired by the imposterdevice). The IP management component 318 also can flag the imposterdevice as a security problem, where action can be taken to attempt toidentify the imposter device and associated user (e.g., hacker).

It is to be appreciated and understood that the UEs 302 and 304, APs 306and 308, and IP management components 316, 318 and 320, each can be thesame or similar as and/or can comprise the same or similar functionalityas respectively named components, such as more fully described herein,for example, in system 100 and system 200. It also is to be appreciatedand understood that the subject application is depicted in FIG. 3 ashaving two UEs 302 and 304, two APs 306 and 308, one server 314, and oneIP management component 316 on the server side, and one IP managementcomponent per UE; however, the subject application is not so limited, asthere also can be less than two UEs, two UEs, or more than two UEs; lessthan two APs, two APs, or more than two APs; one or more servers, and/orone or more IP management components, as desired. It is to be furtherappreciated and understood that, while the respective IP managementcomponents 316, 318, and 320 are shown as being respectively included aspart of the server 314, UE 302, and UE 304, the subject application isnot so limited, as, in accordance with various embodiments, one or moreof the respective IP management components can be a stand-alone unit,the respective IP management component(s) can be part of anothercomponent in system 300, or portions (e.g., components) of therespective IP management component(s) can be distributed as separatecomponents throughout the system 300, as desired.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of an example IP management component 400in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter. In anaspect, the IP management component 400 can be utilized to incorporate aphysical location value, which corresponds to a physical location of acommunication device, in an IP address associated with the communicationdevice (e.g., UE) in a communication network, and controlling routing ofdata traffic to communication devices based at least in part on therespective modified IP addresses, which incorporate the respectivephysical location values. The IP management component 400 can include amonitor component 402 that can monitor, detect, and receive respectivephysical location information associated with respective UEs in thecommunication, where the physical location information can indicate aphysical geographical location of the associated UE. The monitorcomponent 402 also can monitor, detect, and receive information relatingto respective IP addresses of respective UEs.

The IP management component 400 also can include a location component404 that can obtain or receive the physical location informationassociated with a UE and can determine or identify the current physicallocation (e.g., physical geographical location) of the UE. The locationcomponent 404 also can identify or generate a physical location value(e.g., a physical location geo-spatial co-ordinate) that can correspondto the current physical location of the UE. In another aspect, the IPmanagement component 400 can contain an IP address component 406 thatcan identify respective IP addresses associated with respective UEs. TheIP address component 406 also can identify modified (e.g., translated)IP addresses of respective UEs.

In still another aspect, the IP management component 400 can comprise atranslator component 408 that can translate an IP address associatedwith a UE, based at least in part on the current physical location valueassociated with the UE and/or a true or pseudo randomly generatednumber, to incorporate the current physical location value associatedwith the UE as part of the IP address associated with the UE tofacilitate securing the IP address and the associated UE and/orassociated data from attack by unauthorized entities (e.g., hackers). Inaccordance with an embodiment, as desired, the IP management component400 can optionally contain a random number generator component 410 thatcan generate true or pseudo randomly numbers that can be provided to andutilized by the translator component 408 to facilitate translating an IPaddress associated with a UE to facilitate securing the IP address andthe associated UE and/or associated data from attack by unauthorizedentities. For example, an IP address associated with a UE can betranslated by the translator component 408 as a function of the currentphysical location value associated with the UE and the randomlygenerated number.

In yet another aspect, the IP management component 400 can include amapper component 412 that, for each UE, can generate and maintain amapping of the original IP address associated with a UE with themodified IP address, the current physical location value, and/or otherinformation (e.g., randomly generated number) associated with the UE.The mapping can be utilized to facilitate ensuring that a datacommunication to/from a particular UE is actually associated with thatparticular UE and not another communication device masquerading as theUE.

The IP management component 400 also can comprise an evaluator component414 that can evaluate or compare the IP address(es) (e.g., modified IPaddress(es)) associated with a data packet(s) and the respectivephysical locations of the source UE and/or destination UE associatedwith the data transmission to facilitate determining whether the datapacket(s) is being sent from a source UE that is actually the UE thesource UE is representing itself to be by the source IP address and/ordetermining whether the data packet(s) is being sent to a destination UEthat is actually the UE the destination UE is representing itself to beby the destination IP address. The evaluator component 414 can retrievethe IP address, modified IP address, current physical location value,and/or associated mapping (e.g., from the data store 422) that relate tothe respective IP addresses as represented by the source UE and/ordestination UE associated with the data transmission; and can receive,from the location component 404, the respective current physicallocations or corresponding respective current physical location valuesof the source UE and destination UE. The evaluator component 414 cancompare the represented IP address and current physical location valueof the source UE (or destination UE, as applicable) to the stored IPaddress and associated current physical location value to determinewhether there is a match. If current physical location value associatedwith the represented IP address of the source UE (or destination UE, asapplicable) matches the current physical location value associated withthe IP address that is assigned to the UE that is physically currentlylocated at the physical geographical location (corresponding to itscurrent physical location value), the evaluator component 414 candetermine that the source UE (or destination UE, as applicable) is theactual UE associated with the IP address and not an imposter UEattempting masquerade as the actual UE.

In another aspect, the IP management component 400 can include asecurity component 416 that can enforce predefined IP rules (e.g.,comprising predefined security rules) relating to routing of datacommunications to/from UEs. For example, a predefined security rule canspecify that data traffic associated with a particular UE can only becommunicated to the UE (or from the UE to another communication device)having an IP address and a current physical location value associatedwith the particular UE, where the current physical location value can beincorporated in the IP address (e.g., modified or translated IPaddress). The security component 416 can facilitate ensuring that datacommunication related to the particular UE is not sent to a UE (e.g., UEmasquerading as the particular UE) (or is not sent from a UE to anothercommunication device) when the UE does not have the correct IP addressand current physical location value associated with the particular UE.

In still another aspect, the IP management component 400 can contain arouter component 418 that can generate routing control information thatcan be sent to a desired router(s) and utilized to facilitate routingdata traffic to desired UEs in accordance with the evaluations by theevaluator component 414 and the predefined IP rules associated with thesecurity component 416.

In an aspect, the IP management component 400 can include a searchcomponent 420 that can search for IP addresses (e.g., modified IPaddresses) that are respectively associated with UEs in a definedlocation space or area (e.g., physical or geographic location, which istwo-dimensional or three-dimensional) for a communication network. Whendata traffic that is ostensibly associated with a modified IP address ofa UE is detected, the search component 420 can search to identify a listof IP addresses that contains the modified IP address to facilitatedetermining the defined physical location associated with thatparticular list of IP addresses, and the location component 404 candetermine the current physical location and corresponding currentphysical location value of the UE(s) associated with the data traffic.The evaluator component 414 can evaluate or compare the physicallocation value associated with the particular list of IP addressesto/with the current physical location value associated with the datatraffic (e.g. associated with the source of destination UE) to determinewhether the physical location value of the list matches the currentphysical location value associated with the data traffic, where a matchcan result in the data traffic being routed to the desired destinationand a non-match can result in the data traffic being discarded and/orrouted differently so that the data traffic is not routed to theintended destination as specified in the data packet(s) (e.g., access tothe communication network can be denied to the source or destination UEthat is determined to not be the UE it is attempting to represent itselfto be).

In yet another aspect, the IP management component 400 can comprise aprocessor component 422 that can work in conjunction with the othercomponents (e.g., monitor component 402, location component 404, IPaddress component 406, etc.) to facilitate performing the variousfunctions of the IP management component 400. The processor component422 can employ one or more processors, microprocessors, or controllersthat can process data, such as IP address data, physical locationinformation associated with UEs, randomly generated numbers, predefinedIP rules, and/or other information, to facilitate incorporating acurrent physical location (e.g., corresponding current physical locationvalue) as part of an IP address associated with a UE, and determiningwhether a source UE or destination UE associated with a datatransmission is/are actually the source UE or destination UE that theyare representing themselves to be based at least in part on the IPaddresses they provided and their respective current physical locationvalues; and can control data flow between the IP management component400 and other components (e.g., monitor component 402, locationcomponent 404, IP address component 406, etc.; routers) associated withthe IP management component 400 (e.g., contained within the IPmanagement component 400 or outside the IP management component 400).

The IP management component 400 also can include a data store 424 thatcan store data structures (e.g., user data, metadata); code structure(s)(e.g., modules, objects, classes, procedures) or instructions; physicallocation information or physical location values respectively associatedwith UEs and associated IP addresses; mappings respectively associatedwith IP addresses of UEs; respective modified IP addresses associatedwith respective UEs; predefined IP rules; network or device informationlike policies and specifications, attachment protocols; code sequencesfor scrambling, spreading and pilot (e.g., reference signal(s))transmission; frequency offsets; cell IDs; and so on. In an aspect, theprocessor component 422 can be functionally coupled (e.g., through amemory bus) to the data store 424 in order to store and retrieveinformation (e.g., current physical location value, IP address, modifiedIP address, associated mapping, relating to a UE; algorithms used todetermine whether a source UE or destination UE associated with a datatransmission is/are actually the source UE or destination UE that theyare representing themselves to be based at least in part on the IPaddresses they provided and their respective current physical locationvalues, etc.) desired to operate and/or confer functionality, at leastin part, to monitor component 402, location component 404, IP addresscomponent 406, translator component 408, random number generator 410,mapper component 412, evaluator component 414, security component 416,router component 418, search component 420, and/or substantially anyother operational aspects of the IP management component 400.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of an example mobile device 500 (e.g.,UE) in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter. In anaspect, the mobile device 500 can be a multimode access terminal,wherein a set of antennas 569 ₁-569 _(Q) (Q is a positive integer) canreceive and transmit signal(s) from and to wireless devices like accesspoints, access terminals, wireless ports and routers, and so forth, thatoperate in a radio access network. It should be appreciated thatantennas 569 ₁-569 _(Q) are a part of communication platform 502, whichcomprises electronic components and associated circuitry that providefor processing and manipulation of received signal(s) and signal(s) tobe transmitted; e.g., receivers and transmitters 504,multiplexer/demultiplexer (mux/demux) component 506, andmodulation/demodulation (mod/demod) component 508.

In another aspect, multimode operation chipset(s) 510 can allow themobile device 500 to operate in multiple communication modes inaccordance with disparate technical specification for wirelesstechnologies. In an aspect, multimode operation chipset(s) 510 canutilize communication platform 502 in accordance with a specific mode ofoperation (e.g., voice, GPS). In another aspect, multimode operationchipset(s) 510 can be scheduled to operate concurrently (e.g., when Q>1)in various modes or within a multitask paradigm.

In still another aspect, the mobile device 500 can comprise a locationcomponent 512 that can generate and/or provide physical locationinformation that can facilitate identifying the current physicalgeographical location of the mobile device 500, and can communicate(e.g., directly or indirectly) the physical location information to anIP management component (e.g., 400) via a serving AP (e.g., basestation). The mobile device 500 also can include an IP address component514 that can obtain or receive an IP address assigned to the mobiledevice 500 when an internet connection is established, and/or canprovide or communicate the IP address, for example, as part of a datacommunication associated with the mobile device 500 to facilitateenabling other components (e.g., core network, IP management component,etc.) to identify the mobile device 500.

In accordance with an embodiment, the mobile device 500 optionally caninclude an IP management component 516 that can dynamically incorporatea current physical location value as part of an IP address to generate amodified IP address associated with another communication device (e.g.,a server, a computer, a phone, etc.) and can dynamically route datatraffic, based at least in part on the modified IP address and currentphysical location value (e.g., by verifying whether a devicerepresenting itself to be a particular communication device is in factthe particular communication device based at least in part on thecurrent physical location value of the device and routing data trafficaccordingly based at least in part on predefined IP rules), tofacilitate enhanced security with regard to data communicationsassociated with the UEs 302 and 304.

The mobile device 500 also can include a processor(s) 518 that can beconfigured to confer functionality, at least in part, to substantiallyany electronic component within the mobile device 500, in accordancewith aspects of the subject application. As an example, the processor(s)518 can facilitate enabling the location component 512 to generateand/or provide physical location information relating to the currentphysical location of the mobile device 500; can facilitate enabling theIP address component 514 to obtain or receive an IP address assigned tothe mobile device 500 when an internet connection is established, and/orcan provide or communicate the IP address to a desired component (e.g.,AP, IP management component, core network, etc.); can facilitateincorporating a physical location value as part of an IP addressassociated with a communication device to create a modified IP address;can facilitate verifying whether a communication device (e.g., server)is actually the device it is representing itself to be or is an imposterdevice based at least in part on a physical location value associatedwith a modified IP address relating to such communication device; andcan facilitate routing data traffic associated with the mobile device500. Further, the processor(s) 518 can facilitate enabling the mobiledevice 500 to process data (e.g., symbols, bits, or chips) formultiplexing/demultiplexing, modulation/demodulation, such asimplementing direct and inverse fast Fourier transforms, selection ofmodulation rates, selection of data packet formats, inter-packet times,etc.

The mobile device 500 also can contain a data store 520 that can storedata structures (e.g., user data, metadata); code structure(s) (e.g.,modules, objects, classes, procedures) or instructions; physicallocation information associated with the mobile device 500; IP addressinformation associated with the mobile device 500; current physicallocation values of respective communication devices; original andmodified IP addresses respectively associated with communicationdevices; respective mappings relating to modified IP addresses ofrespective communication devices; randomly generated numbers;translation table; network or device information like policies andspecifications, attachment protocols; code sequences for scrambling,spreading and pilot (e.g., reference signal(s)) transmission; frequencyoffsets; cell IDs; encoding algorithms; compression algorithms; decodingalgorithms; decompression algorithms; and so on. In an aspect, theprocessor(s) 518 can be functionally coupled (e.g., through a memorybus) to the data store 520 in order to store and retrieve information(e.g., physical location information, IP address information, etc.)desired to operate and/or confer functionality, at least in part, tocommunication platform 502, multimode operation chipset(s) 510, locationcomponent 512, IP address component 514, IP management component 516,and/or substantially any other operational aspects of the mobile device500.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an example AP 600 (e.g., basestation) in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.The AP 600 can receive and transmit signal(s) from and to wirelessdevices like access points (e.g., base stations, femto APs, pico APs),access terminals, wireless ports and routers, and the like, through aset of antennas 669 ₁-669 _(N). It should be appreciated that whileantennas 669 ₁-669 _(N) are a part of a communication platform 602,which comprises electronic components and associated circuitry that canprovide for processing and manipulation of received signal(s) andsignal(s) to be transmitted. In an aspect, the communication platform602 can include a receiver/transmitter 604 that can convert signal fromanalog to digital upon reception, and from digital to analog upontransmission. In addition, receiver/transmitter 604 can divide a singledata stream into multiple, parallel data streams, or perform thereciprocal operation.

In an aspect, coupled to receiver/transmitter 604 can be amultiplexer/demultiplexer (mux/demux) 606 that can facilitatemanipulation of signal in time and frequency space. The mux/demux 606can multiplex information (e.g., data/traffic and control/signaling)according to various multiplexing schemes such as time divisionmultiplexing (TDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM), code division multiplexing(CDM), space division multiplexing (SDM). In addition, mux/demuxcomponent 606 can scramble and spread information (e.g., codes)according to substantially any code known in the art, e.g.,Hadamard-Walsh codes, Baker codes, Kasami codes, polyphase codes, and soon. A modulator/demodulator (mod/demod) 608 also can be part of anoperational group, and can modulate information according to multiplemodulation techniques, such as frequency modulation, amplitudemodulation (e.g., M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), with M apositive integer), phase-shift keying (PSK), and the like.

In still another aspect, the AP 600 can comprise a location component610 that can obtain or receive physical location information ofrespective UEs associated with the AP 600, and can communicate (e.g.,directly or indirectly) the physical location information to an IPmanagement component (e.g., 400). The AP 600 also can include an IPaddress component 612 that can obtain, receive, or identify respectiveIP addresses associated with respective UEs. The IP address component612 can communicate the IP addresses to the IP management component.

The AP 600 also can comprise a processor(s) 614 that can be configuredto confer and/or facilitate providing functionality, at least partially,to substantially any electronic component in or associated with the AP600. For instance, the processor(s) 614 can facilitate enabling thelocation component 710 to obtain or receive physical locationinformation of respective UEs and providing the physical locationinformation to the IP management component; and the processor(s) 614 canfacilitate enabling the IP address component 612 to obtain, receive, oridentify respective IP addresses associated with respective UEs, andcommunicate the IP addresses to the IP management component. Inaddition, the processor(s) 614 can facilitate operations on data (e.g.,symbols, bits, or chips) for multiplexing/demultiplexing, such aseffecting direct and inverse fast Fourier transforms, selection ofmodulation rates, selection of data packet formats, inter-packet times,etc.

In another aspect, the AP 600 can include a data store 616 that canstore data structures; code instructions; physical location informationor an IP address associated with a UE (e.g., mobile device) served bythe AP 600; rate coding information associated with the served mobiledevice; system or device information like policies and specifications;code sequences for scrambling; spreading and pilot transmission; floorplan configuration; access point deployment and frequency plans;scheduling policies; and so on. The processor(s) 614 can be coupled tothe data store 616 in order to store and retrieve information (e.g.,physical location information associated with a UE, IP addressassociated with a UE, etc.) desired to operate and/or conferfunctionality to the communication platform 602, receiver/transmitter604, mux/demux component 606, mod/demod 608, location component 610, IPaddress component 612, and/or other operational components of AP 600.

In view of the example systems described herein, example methodologiesthat can be implemented in accordance with the disclosed subject mattercan be better appreciated with reference to flowcharts in FIGS. 7-10.For purposes of simplicity of explanation, example methodologiesdisclosed herein are presented and described as a series of acts;however, it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subjectmatter is not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may occur indifferent orders and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown anddescribed herein. For example, a methodology disclosed herein couldalternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states orevents, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, interaction diagram(s) mayrepresent methodologies in accordance with the disclosed subject matterwhen disparate entities enact disparate portions of the methodologies.Furthermore, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement amethodology in accordance with the subject specification. It should befurther appreciated that the methodologies disclosed throughout thesubject specification are capable of being stored on an article ofmanufacture to facilitate transporting and transferring suchmethodologies to computers for execution by a processor or for storagein a memory.

FIG. 7 presents a flowchart of an example methodology 700 forincorporating a current physical location value in an IP addressassociated with a communication device (e.g., UE) in a communicationnetwork in accordance with various aspects of the disclosed subjectmatter. At 702, a physical location value corresponding to the currentphysical location of the UE can be dynamically or automaticallyintegrated in or incorporated with an IP address associated with the UEto modify the IP address. In an aspect, an IP management component canobtain and/or identify a current physical location of a UE, for example,during initiation of a communication session associated with theinternet. The current physical location can be represented by a currentphysical location value that corresponds to the current physicallocation of the UE. The IP management component can integrate orincorporate the current physical location value with the IP addressassigned to the UE, for example, by translating the originally assignedIP address using the current physical location value and/or a randomlygenerated number to modify the originally assigned IP address to amodified or translated IP address. The modified IP address, the currentphysical location value, and/or original IP address can be mapped witheach other and stored in a translation table associated with the IPmanagement component.

At 704, data traffic associated with the UE can be routed (e.g.,automatically or dynamically routed) based at least in part on themodified IP address. In an aspect, the IP management component canmonitor data traffic associated with UEs in the communication network.The IP management component can detect and identify data trafficassociated with the UE or ostensibly associated with the UE, based atleast in part on information (e.g., source IP address, destination IPaddress) associated with the data traffic, being communicated orostensibly being communicated to or from the UE. The IP managementcomponent can reference the modified IP addresses that respectivelycorrespond to the source IP address and destination IP addressassociated with the data traffic (e.g., reference modified IP address ofUE that is the same as the source IP address; reference another modifiedIP address of another UE that is the same as the destination IPaddress). For each referenced modified IP address, the IP managementcomponent can retrieve the original IP address, modified IP address,current physical location value, associated mapping, and/or otherinformation (e.g., randomly generated number) of the UE from atranslation table stored in a data store associated with the IPmanagement component based at least in part on the informationassociated with the data traffic (e.g., IP management component canreference the stored modified IP address of the UE that corresponds tothe source IP address or destination IP address associated with the datatraffic, and can retrieve desired parameters from the translation tablethat are associated with the modified IP address of the UE). The IPmanagement component can obtain and/or identify the respective currentphysical locations of a source UE and/or destination UE associated withthe data traffic that is associated with the respective IP addresses(e.g., source IP address, destination IP address) ostensibly related tothe respective UEs (e.g., referenced UEs), where such respective currentphysical locations can be converted to respective current physicallocation values respectively associated with the source UE and/ordestination UE. For each of the referenced UEs, the IP managementcomponent can evaluate or compare the stored current physical locationvalue associated with the referenced UE to the current physical locationvalue associated with the source or destination UE (whichever isapplicable with regard to the referenced UE) and/or other information tofacilitate determining whether the source or destination UE (whicheveris applicable) is actually the UE or is instead another UE attempting tomasquerade as the UE (e.g., via a spoofing attack).

If the IP management component determines that the stored currentphysical location value associated with the referenced UE is the same(e.g., has the same value) as the current physical location valueassociated with the source or destination UE (whichever is applicable),the IP management component can generate routing information that can beprovided to the desired component (e.g., gateway, router, etc.) tofacilitate routing the data traffic to the UE when the UE is thedestination UE or to a destination UE when the UE is the source UE, andthe desired component can route the data traffic accordingly.Conversely, if the IP management component determines that the storedcurrent physical location value associated with the referenced UE is notthe same as the current physical location value associated with thesource or destination UE (whichever is applicable), the IP managementcomponent can generate routing information that can be provided to thedesired component (e.g., gateway, router, etc.) to facilitate notrouting the data traffic to the destination UE (whether the imposter UEis a source UE attempting to inappropriately obtain information from orinappropriately gain access to a destination UE, or the destination UEis an imposter UE obtaining to attack a source UE and inappropriatelyobtain information from the source UE), and the desired component canroute the data traffic accordingly (e.g., not send the data traffic tothe destination UE, discard the data traffic, etc.). In another aspect,the IP management component also can flag the imposter UE and canattempt to further identify the imposter UE in order learn the actualidentity of the imposter UE and associated user (e.g., hacker).

FIG. 8 depicts a flowchart of an example methodology 800 that canincorporate a current physical location value as part of an IP addressassociated with a communication device (e.g., UE) in a communicationnetwork in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter. At802, a current physical location value can be generated based at leastin part on a current physical location associated with a UE. In anaspect, information relating to a current physical location of a UE canbe obtained, and an IP management component can convert the currentphysical location to generate a current physical location value. At 804,an IP address associated with the UE can be obtained. In accordance withone aspect, the IP management component can obtain the IP addressassociated with (e.g., assigned to) the UE.

At 806, the IP address associated with the UE can be modified (e.g.,automatically or dynamically modified) to include or incorporate thecurrent physical location value of the UE. In an aspect, the IPmanagement component can modify or translate the IP address associatedwith the UE using the current physical location value to modify the IPaddress based at least in part on the current physical location value.In accordance with an embodiment, in addition to using the currentphysical location value, a randomly generated number also can be used inconjunction with the current physical location value to modify ortranslate the IP address to generate a modified IP address.

At 808, the modified IP address can be stored. In an aspect, the IPmanagement component can store the modified IP address associated withthe UE as well as the original IP address, current physical locationvalue, associated mapping of such parameters, and/or other informationin a translation table, which can be stored in a data store associatedwith the IP management component.

At 810, data traffic can be routed (e.g., automatically or dynamicallyrouted) based at least in part on the modified IP address associatedwith the UE. In an aspect, the IP management component can facilitaterouting data traffic based at least in part on the modified IP addressassociated with the UE, for instance, as more fully described withregard to methodology 700. As a result, data traffic can be communicatedbetween the UE and another communication device based at least in parton the modified IP address, incorporating the current physical locationvalue, associated with the UE, and thereby not allowing an imposter UE(e.g., foreign UE) attempting to impersonate the UE to send data toanother communication device to inappropriately obtain information fromthe other communication device and/or inappropriately receiveinformation from another UE that is falsely led to believe that theimposter UE is the UE.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of an example methodology 900 that cantranslate an IP address associated with a UE using a current physicallocation value associated with the UE in a communication network inaccordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter. At 902,information relating to a current physical location of a UE can bedetected. In an aspect, an IP management component can detect or obtainthe information relating to the current physical location of the UE. At904, the current physical location can be converted into a currentphysical location value (e.g., current physical location geo-spatialco-ordinate) based at least in part on the information relating to thecurrent physical location. In an aspect, the IP management component cananalyze the information relating to the current physical location (e.g.,latitude, longitude, and/or altitude) of the UE, and based at least inpart on such information analysis, the IP management component canconvert the current physical location of the UE into a current physicallocation value. At 906, an IP address associated with the UE can beobtained. In an aspect, the UE can have an IP address assigned to it.The IP management component can obtain or detect the IP addressassociated with the UE.

At 908, the IP address can be translated to a modified IP address basedat least in part on the current physical location value of the UE. In anaspect, the IP management component can apply the current physicallocation value associated with the UE to the IP address, for example,using a desired predefined translation algorithm, to translate the IPaddress into the modified IP address, which now has the current physicallocation value incorporated therein. In accordance with an embodiment,optionally, as desired, the IP management component also can generate ofobtain a true or pseudo randomly generated number, which, along with thecurrent physical location value, can be applied to the IP address, forexample, using another desired predefined translation algorithm, totranslate the IP address to a modified IP address, which therebyincorporates the current physical location value and randomly generatednumber therein. At 910, the modified IP address can be stored in atranslation table. The IP management component can store the modified IPaddress, the original IP address, the current physical location value,the randomly generated number (if any), and/or other information in thetranslation table. Further, the IP management component can generate amapping between such parameters to facilitate secure data communicationsassociated with the UE and other communication devices in thecommunication network. The mapping can be stored in the translationtable with the other parameters as well.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of an example methodology 1000 that canre-translate an IP address associated with a UE using a new currentphysical location value associated with the UE when the UE moves to anew physical location in a communication network in accordance with anaspect of the disclosed subject matter. At 1002, a current physicallocation value, which corresponds to a current physical location,associated with the UE can be incorporated (e.g., automatically ordynamically incorporated) into an IP address assigned to the UE togenerate a modified IP address for the UE. In an aspect, the IPmanagement component can incorporate the current physical location valueof the UE as part of the IP address of the UE, for example, bytranslating the IP address based at least in part on the currentphysical location value, such as more fully described herein (e.g., inmethodology 900).

At 1004, data traffic can be routed (e.g., automatically or dynamicallyrouted) to or from the UE in accordance with the modified IP address ofthe UE. The IP management component can utilize the modified IP addressand associated current physical location value incorporated therein tofacilitate routing data traffic associated with the UE while the UE isat that same physical location to facilitate secure data communications(e.g., to prevent undesired intrusions by hackers into datacommunications associated with the UE). For instance, the modified IPaddress, original IP address, current physical location value,associated mapping, and/or other information can be stored in atranslation table. When data traffic associated with the UE, or at leastostensibly associated with the UE, is detected by the IP managementcomponent (e.g., when data traffic contains a source IP address ordestination IP address is related to the original IP address of the UE),the IP management component can retrieve the modified IP address,original IP address, current physical location value, associatedmapping, and/or other information from a translation table and canutilize such information to facilitate determining whether the datatraffic actually is associated with the UE or is instead associated withanother communication device masquerading as the UE.

At 1006, a change in physical location of the UE can be detected. In anaspect, the IP management component can detect a change in physicallocation of the UE, for example, when the UE moves from the originalgeographical location to a new physical location (e.g., new definedphysical location space) that is represented by a different physicallocation value. At 1008, a new current physical location value, whichcorresponds to the new current physical location, associated with the UEcan be incorporated (e.g., automatically or dynamically incorporated)into the original IP address assigned to the UE to generate a newmodified IP address for the UE. The IP management component can obtainor generate a new current physical location value based at least in parton information relating to the detected new current physical location ofthe UE (e.g., latitude, longitude, and/or altitude at the new physicallocation of the UE).

At 1010, data traffic can be routed (e.g., automatically or dynamicallyrouted) to or from the UE in accordance with the new modified IP addressof the UE. In an aspect, the IP management component can store the newmodified IP address, original IP address, new current physical locationvalue, associated mapping, and/or other information (e.g., randomlygenerated number; associated other desired physical location values, forexample, corresponding to defined physical location spaces that arenear, adjacent to or proximate to the defined physical location spacerepresented by the current physical location value, such as more fullydisclosed herein) in the translation table. The IP management componentcan utilize the new modified IP address and associated new currentphysical location value incorporated therein to facilitate routing datatraffic associated with the UE while the UE is at that new currentphysical location to facilitate secure data communications.

It is to be appreciated and understood that methodology 1000 can bevaried, as desired, so that, for example, a re-modification of the IPaddress associated with the UE is not triggered until the UE has movedat least a predefined amount of distance away from the current physicallocation (e.g., current defined physical location space) associated withthe current physical location value, in accordance with a specifiedpredefined IP rule. As another example of a variance of methodology1000, in accordance with the subject application, the current physicallocation value can be associated with one or more other desired physicallocation values, which represent corresponding defined physical locationspaces (e.g., near, adjacent to, proximate to the current definedphysical location space associated with the current physical locationvalue), and a re-modification of the IP address associated with the UEis not triggered until the UE has moved from the current physicallocation (e.g., current defined physical location space) associated withthe current physical location value to a defined physical location spacethat has a corresponding physical location value that is not the currentphysical location or any of the associated other desired physicallocation values, in accordance with another specified predefined IPrule.

It also is to be appreciated and understood that components (e.g., UE,base station, AP, IP management component, access network, core network,. . . ), as described with regard to a particular system or methodology,can include the same or similar functionality as respective components(e.g., respectively named components) as described with regard to othersystems or methodologies disclosed herein.

As it employed in the subject specification, the term “processor” canrefer to substantially any computing processing unit or devicecomprising, but not limited to comprising, single-core processors;single-processors with software multithread execution capability;multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multithreadexecution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithreadtechnology; parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributedshared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integratedcircuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digitalsignal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), aprogrammable logic controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device(CPLD), a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. Processors can exploit nano-scale architectures suchas, but not limited to, molecular and quantum-dot based transistors,switches and gates, in order to optimize space usage or enhanceperformance of user equipment. A processor may also be implemented as acombination of computing processing units.

In the subject specification, terms such as “data store,” data storage,”“database,” and substantially any other information storage componentrelevant to operation and functionality of a component, refer to “memorycomponents,” or entities embodied in a “memory” or components comprisingthe memory. For example, information relevant to operation of variouscomponents described in the disclosed subject matter, and that can bestored in a memory, can comprise, but is not limited to comprising,subscriber information; cell configuration (e.g., devices served by anAP) or service policies and specifications; privacy policies; and soforth. It will be appreciated that the memory components describedherein can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or caninclude both volatile and nonvolatile memory. By way of illustration,and not limitation, nonvolatile memory can include read only memory(ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), phase change memory (PCM), flashmemory, or nonvolatile RAM (e.g., ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM). Volatilememory can include random access memory (RAM), which acts as externalcache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM isavailable in many forms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM(DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM),enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM(DRRAM). Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems ormethods herein are intended to comprise, without being limited tocomprising, these and any other suitable types of memory.

Various aspects or features described herein may be implemented as amethod, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programmingand/or engineering techniques. The term “article of manufacture” as usedherein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computerreadable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storagedevices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips . . . ), opticaldisks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), Blu-raydisc (BD), . . . ), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card,stick, key drive . . . ).

What has been described above includes examples of systems and methodsthat provide advantages of the subject application. It is, of course,not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components ormethodologies for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, butone of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many furthercombinations and permutations of the claimed subject matter arepossible. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,”“possesses,” and the like are used in the detailed description, claims,appendices and drawings such terms are intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpretedwhen employed as a transitional word in a claim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a processor; and a memorythat stores executable instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising: translatinga network address as a function of a first physical location of a mobiledevice; in response to the translating, modifying the network address tocomprise a location value representative of a second physical locationadjacent to the first physical location of the mobile device, resultingin a modified network address; in response to the modifying the networkaddress, comparing the first physical location to the second physicallocation; and in response to a condition associated with the comparingbeing determined to have been satisfied, identifying the mobile device.2. The system of claim 1, wherein the location value is a first locationvalue, and wherein the operations further comprise: comparing a secondlocation value associated with the first physical location to a storedlocation value associated with the first physical location.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise: based on thecomparing, determining that the second location value and the storedlocation value are a same value.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein themobile device is a first mobile device, and wherein the operationsfurther comprise: in response to the determining that the secondlocation value and the stored location value are the same value, routingcommunication data, representative of a communication, to a secondmobile device.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise: mapping the modified network address to a value associatedwith the second physical location.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein thesecond physical location is a current physical location of the mobiledevice.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise: mapping the modified network address to a value associatedwith a third physical location representative of a requested physicallocation of the mobile device.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein thetranslating the network address as the function of the first physicallocation of the mobile device comprises modifying the network address tocomprise a randomly generated number.
 9. The system of claim 2, whereinthe operations further comprise: in response to the comparing,determining that an actual location value and the stored location valueare not a same value and that communication data is not being sent fromthe mobile device.
 10. A method, comprising: receiving, by a systemcomprising a processor, an internet protocol address associated with amobile device; adding, by the system, a first location value of a firstlocation to the internet protocol address, wherein the first location isadjacent to a second location of the mobile device; translating, by thesystem, the internet protocol address as a function of the secondlocation; based on the translating, modifying, by the system, theinternet protocol address to comprise a location value associated withthe first location, resulting in an updated internet protocol address;and in response to the modifying, determining, by the system, that themobile device is at the first location.
 11. The method of claim 10,further comprising: determining, by the system, that communication dataassociated with the mobile device is not being sent from the firstlocation.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the mobile device is afirst mobile device, and further comprising: in response to thedetermining, by the system, associating the communication data with asecond mobile device.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:based on the associating the communication data with the second mobiledevice, discarding, by the system, the communication data.
 14. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the internet protocol address is a firstinternet protocol address, and further comprising: based on theassociating the communication data with the second mobile device,routing, by the system, the communication data to a second internetprotocol address that is not the first internet protocol address. 15.The method of claim 12, further comprising: in response to theassociating the communication data with the second mobile device,flagging, by the system, a communication associated with thecommunication data from the second mobile device as a security breach.16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: in response to theflagging, monitoring, by the system, additional communications receivedfrom the second mobile device.
 17. A machine-readable storage mediumcomprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor,facilitate performance of operations, comprising: receiving an internetprotocol address associated with a mobile device; translating theinternet protocol address as a function of a first location value of afirst location of the mobile device; modifying the internet protocoladdress by adding a second location value associated with a secondlocation of the mobile device, wherein the second location is apotential location of the mobile device, and wherein the potentiallocation of the mobile device is adjacent to the first location of themobile device; and in response to a condition associated with comparingthe first location value to the second location value being determinedto have been satisfied, determining that signal data has been receivedfrom the mobile device.
 18. The machine-readable storage medium of claim17, wherein the potential location is a first potential location, andwherein the operations further comprise: comparing a third locationvalue associated with a second potential location of the mobile deviceto the first location value; and in response to the comparing,determining that the third location value is not a same value as thefirst location value.
 19. The machine-readable storage medium of claim18, wherein the mobile device is a first mobile device, wherein thesignal data is first signal data, and wherein the operations furthercomprise: in response the determining that the third location value isnot the same value as the first location value, determining that asecond mobile device is attempting to send second signal data via theinternet protocol address associated with the mobile device.
 20. Themachine-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: in response to the determining that the second mobiledevice is attempting to send second signal data via the internetprotocol address associated with the first mobile device, monitoring afourth location associated with the second mobile device.